Use of edible biopolymer based antimicrobial coatings as a mean to extend the shelf life of chicken meat

Abstract

Consumers nowadays are more aware on environmental issues as well as their health and well-being. These trends are major drives of the food industry. In this context biopolymer based antimicrobial packaging seems to be a promising form of active packaging, particularly for meat products, since it can be used to increase the shelf life of food products and in the same time meets the consumer's demands. In the present study edible coatings made from potato starch and aliginate salts and containing two different levels of the ε-polylysine were applied on raw chicken meat. The antimicrobial activity of the coatings was evaluated against spoilage bacteria of meat during storage under refrigerated conditions. The growth of total mesophilic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, total coliforms and pseudomonas was significantly reduced (p<0.05) when starch coating containing the high levels of the antimicrobial agent was applied. On the contrary, the use of alginate based coating containing the antimicrobial agent did not affect the microbial growth. Regarding the physicochemical properties of the chicken meat, the effect of the coatings on color was examined. These results indicated the importance of the coating material characteristics, such as charge, on its ability to successfully deliver antimicrobial compounds.